Thursday, August 31, 2017

The battle for Ayadiyah, which is a sub-district of Tal Afar
got to the point where the Iraqi forces (ISF) were making widely different
claims about their progress. First, Tal Afar We Are Coming commander General
Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah told
the press that east Ayadiyah had been liberated by the Federal Police and Rapid
Reaction units. The general then went on to say that 40% of the Ayadiyah
district was freed.
Then the Federal Police chief General Raed Shakir Jawadat upped that to 90% of the area was
under government control. Finally, the Hashd said
that the entire sub-district was now cleared. In these types of situations, it
is always difficult to tell how honest the ISF are being because they have such
a high propensity to exaggerate their achievements. The day before they were
talking about how intense the fighting was with on army officer comparing it to
the Old City. Then the next day the defenders collapsed. It will take the next
day or two to tell what the real situation is.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Iraqi forces (ISF) were still attempting to capture the
Ayadiyah sub-district of Tal Afar. The Islamic State was putting up stubborn
resistance leading the Iraqis to call in reinforcements.
Originally, only the army’s 15th and 16th Divisions were
involved. Now the army’s 9th
Division, the Hashd, the Federal Police, the Rapid Reaction forces, and the
Golden Division are all attacking Ayadiyah
from three sides. It was reported they reached the center of the town itself, and controlled
50% of the area. According to people fleeing the fighting the militants took
around 120 families with them as human shields as they retreated into the
sub-district. The Iraqis are now claiming
that the 2,000 IS elements they expected to find in Tal Afar retreated to
Ayadiyah. Tal Afar itself was captured in just eight days. Ayadiyah may take a
little longer due to the large number of militants defending it.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

The Tal Afar battle has shifted from the town itself to the
Ayadiyah sub-district to the north. The Iraqi forces (ISF) encircled
the area, and were facing heavy resistance from the Islamic
State. An army lieutenant colonel told Reuters
that many IS fighters fled Tal Afar for Ayadiyah. He believed they were trapped
there due to air strikes and drones that were keeping a constant surveillance
over the area. During the day the Army, Hashd and Federal Police captured one town, a fuel
station, and two farms.
While it looks like the insurgents are putting up a tougher fight for Ayadiyah
then they did for Tal Afar they are still vastly outnumbered, and the fight
could be over soon depending upon how many IS elements are there. If this is
where the 1,000-2,000 IS fighters the Iraqis expected to find in Tal Afar ended
up, then it could take a bit longer.

Monday, August 28, 2017

After eight days the
Tal Afar operation was over. The Iraqi forces (ISF) completed sweeping up the last neighborhoods
on the eastern tip of the town along with a fewareas in the center. The battle was completed in amazing speed. The ISF
claimed that it was a sign that the Islamic State was finished and had lost its
morale. A general from the Golden Division for example told the press that IS’s
“back [was] broken.” While that is up to debate, what is not is the fact that
the insurgents largely abandoned the town. The ISF claimed only 259 fighters
were killed up to August 26. That compared to the 1,000-2,000 IS members the
Iraqis predicted would be there before the operation began. According to a Ninewa councilman most IS elements were killed in Mosul or fled
afterward leaving few for Tal Afar. Although the town was surrounded at the end
of 2016, the cordon never appeared to be very strong allowing ample opportunity
for militants to leave.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

By the seventh day of the Tal Afar campaign the fighting was
nearly over. By the middle of the day the Tal Afar We Are Coming command said that 75% of the town was under
government control. That went up to 90%
by night time. The three thrusts into the town cleared the remaining
neighborhoods in the middle, and then moved to the eastern end of Tal Afar.
Along the way they took Muthanna
1, Muthanna 2, Arabiya
2, Bouari, Urouba,
Salam,
Qadisiyah 1, Qadisiya 2, Rabia, and the citadel in the center. Most of the
combat appeared to be done by the Federal Police and 9th Division
along with the 2nd and 11th Hashd Brigades. Just two neighborhoods at
the eastern tip of the town remained in Islamic State hands. The Iraqis and
U.S. originally estimated 1,000-2,000 militants were in Tal Afar. That now
looks overblown as only a few hundred have been reported killed. Of course,
given Iraqi propensity to exaggerate that figure will likely go way up later
on. Tal Afar was originally surrounded at the end of 2016. The cordon did not
appear to be particularly done well as the Hashd continuously said it was
cutting off the last route to Syria. It was said to be surrounded again about a
month ago. That gave the insurgents plenty of time to leave. It seems most did,
leaving behind only a small holding force.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

On the sixth day of the Tal Afar offensive the three fronts
attacking the town all met. The two thrusts from in the west met up with the
southern push. That was accomplished by taking Nida, Khadra,
Saad,
Talaa,
and Nasr.
In the process, the entire Mahalabiya
district was liberated. The Federal Police seized
a town outside Tal Afar as well. By the end of the day just over half of the
town was in government hands. The fighting should be over in just a few days,
and then mopping up operations should take place to clear up the towns that
were bypassed in the charge to get to Tal Afar.

Friday, August 25, 2017

The Iraqi forces (ISF) continued three major thrusts into
Tal Afar, which have nearly cut the town into thirds. The army, Golden Division
and Hashd took Nour, Wahda,
Kifa, the industrial district, the Education
Directorate, and Jazira,
which the Iraqi forces claimed they took on August
22. The Islamic State was said to be herding people
with them as they retreated east. Ninewa Councilman Abdul Rahman al-Wakaa told
the press that nearly 50% of the town had been taken. Joint Operations
spokesman General Yahya Rasool added
that over 300 IS fighters had been killed so far. The ISF coming from the south
have nearly cut the town in half. The northwest and southeast fronts have linked
up and are moving towards the center. The Iraqis’ strategy has been to charge
towards the heart of Tal Afar as quickly as possible. At this rate, the Iraqis
could finish off the battle in just a few more days.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

The Iraqi forces (ISF) moved further into Tal Afar in just
the fourth day of the campaign. First, on August
22, Kifa was declared freed. That turned out to be another example of
exaggeration by the ISF. On August 23, the Badr Organization repeated
that claim, but then the Golden Division said it only cleared south Kifa, while the northern
section was still under attack
by the Federal Police and Hashd. The 9th Division along with the 2nd,
11th, and 26th Hashd Brigades took
Tanak in east Tal Afar, while the 16th Hashd Brigade entered Khadra
in the south. Originally, Baghdad claimed that Tal Afar would follow the model
of Mosul with only the Golden Division, army and police entering the town. The
government also allegedly held secret meetings with Turkey to assure it that
the Hashd would only have a limited role since Ankara threatened intervention
over their involvement. Instead what’s happened is that ISF units have been
partnered up with Hashd brigades and they have entered Tal Afar from multiple
directions. This includes Badr, which is connected to Iran, and exactly the
type of unit the Erdogan government was opposed to taking part in the campaign.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Iraqi forces (ISF) have changed their tactics for the
Tal Afar operation and charged right towards the center of the town. The army’s
9th Division and the Hashd breached Tal Afar in the northeast and
southeast entering the al-Askari
and Khadra
neighborhoods. The Rapid Reaction units and Hashd freed Kifa
in the northwest. The Hashd also took Nour and Tarmi.
Instead of meticulously moving towards Tal Afar and clearing all the areas before
taking on Tal Afar itself, they struck
right for the town. In just three days they reached it. Another difference is
the role of the Hashd. As the operation started the government said it would be
like the Mosul battle with only the army and police entering Tal Afar, while
the Hashd would remain on the outside. The speed with which the forces reached
the town however has meant various Hashd are now inside. Badr for example,
claimed it took an area.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Iraqi forces (ISF) continued to advance on Tal Afar from
five directions. In the west, the Federal Police and Hashd moved 19 kilometers into the Tal
Afar district. A police major claimed
they were only a few meters from reaching the town itself. According to Joint
Operations Command spokesman General Yahya Rasool six villages were captured
during the day. The Golden Division moving from the southwest entered the
first neighborhood of the town. The Tal Afar district is not that big. Most of
it is open plain providing little cover for the Islamic State. There is only
one built up area of the town itself where the streets are narrow and the
houses densely packed. The environment favors the ISF who have an overwhelming
force along with air and artillery cover.

Belgium Special Forces operating anti-tank missiles next to
the US troops (AP)

The Tal Afar operation finally began just over a month after
Mosul was freed. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced
the start of the campaign on TV stating that the Islamic State could either
surrender or die. The Iraqi Air Force dropped leaflets over Tal Afar telling
people the battle had begun.

Violence in Iraq remained incredibly low during the second
week of August 2017. There were only 88 incidents reported in the media. There
were 20 in Ninewa, 18 in Baghdad, 15 in Diyala, 11 in Anbar, 8 in Kirkuk and Salahaddin
each, 3 in Babil, 2 in Maysan, and 1 each in Dhi Qar, Karbala, and Irbil. For
years, there have regularly been over 100 incidents per week in the country.
Since Mosul was liberated, and the Islamic State has been thrown on the
defensive the number of attacks has fallen off considerably.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

The original U.S. plan for Iraq was to go in and out as
quick as possible. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was opposed
to nation building, and he was given control of postwar Iraq. He wanted the
American forces to withdraw as soon as the invasion was over. President Bush
had campaigned against the U.S. attempting to rebuild countries as well, and
signed off on the Pentagon’s plan for Iraq. When Jay Garner and the Office for
Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) the first group in charge of
postwar Iraq looked like it was overwhelmed, the Bush administration turned to
Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Bremer had a
completely different philosophy wanting time to not only rebuild, but restructure
Iraq’s institutions. When he was chosen to run Iraq was when the U.S. committed
to a long-term occupation.

IRAQ HISTORY TIMELINE

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About Me

Musings On Iraq was started in 2008 to explain the political, economic, security and cultural situation in Iraq via original articles and interviews. If you wish to contact me personally my email is: motown67@aol.com